Alternative Beef Marketing

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Alternative Beef Marketing
C. Chad Carr University of Florida
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Value-Added
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Producer Options

• Retain Ownership
• Sell into a Natural program or other Process
  Verified Program
• OR
• Start your own program

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Retained Ownership
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Source Verification
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Consumers Quality Categories
(Andersen, 2000)

• Consumption Quality
• Nutritional Quality
• Technological Quality
• Hygienic Quality
• Ethical Quality

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The Quality of a Product Establishes Customer
Loyalty

• Do you get a mental picture of quality beef?

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What is Quality?

• Consumption Quality
• Ethical Quality
• Hygienic Quality
• Technological Quality
• Nutritional Quality

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Consumers Quality Categories
(Andersen, 2000)

• Ethical Quality
• Beef cattle welfare
• Production environment (outdoor production)
• Natural/ Organic farming
• Religion

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Quality Perception is Reality

• Identification of a customer willing to pay for
  these definitions of quality constitutes a
  value-added opportunity for the beef production
  chain

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Quality Perception is Reality

• Identification of a customer willing to pay for
  these definitions of quality constitutes a
  value-added opportunity for the beef production
  chain

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Quality Perception is Reality

• Identification of a customer willing to pay for
  these definitions of quality constitutes a
  value-added opportunity for the beef production
  chain
• 2 general ways
• Superior or unique product quality
• Breed Specific
• Social or credence attributes
• Production Methods

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BEEF
Specialty
improved
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VS.
Naturally- Raised
VS.
Grass- Fed
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2001 Certification Regulations

• Can only be fed Certified Organic feedstuffs
• No growth promotants, antibiotics, or dewormer
• Cattle must have access to pasture

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2007- Preliminary USDA Standard

• No growth promotants, antibiotics, or animal
  by-products
• --- However---
• Dewormer and probiotics are allowed
• No restriction on CAFOS

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2007- Final USDA Standard
Grass- Fed

• Post-weaning ruminants-
• Only forage from pasture or harvested forage
• Continuous access to pasture during the growing
  season
• Any grain consumption must be documented
  explicitly

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Commodity vs. Specialty

• No evidence that specialty meat products (Organic
  or Naturally-Raised) are safer or more nutritious
  than commodity meat products (Honikel, 1998)
• No USDA claims

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Antibiotics and Pesticides

• Human health is not affected by antimicrobials in
  livestock production
• No proof of human antibiotic resistance
• USDA Pesticide Monitoring Program-
• All commodities (lt 1 above tolerance)
• Meat generally has fewest above tolerance

SOURCE G.C. Smith et al. (2006) Conventional,
Natural, Grass-Fed Organic Beef.
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Grain-Fed vs. Grass-Fed

• Grass-fed is
• Leaner
• Less saturated fat and cholesterol (Hedrick et
  al., 1983)
• More off-flavors
• Tends to be tougher less juicy (Regan et al.,
  1977 Hedrick et al., 1983 Crouse et al., 1984)
• Than Grain-fed

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Nationally Distributed
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Nationally Distributed
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Nationally Distributed
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Nationally Distributed
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Nationally Distributed
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Nationally Distributed
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Starting a Niche Meat Program

• Determining the target audience
• Product quality relative to the demographics of
  the target audience

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Starting a Niche Meat Program

• Assessing the products point of differentiation

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Starting a Niche Meat Program

• Determining a contract packer

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Starting a Niche Meat Program

• Cost Analysis

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Quality Perception is Reality
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Quality Perception is Reality
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Quality Perception is Reality
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Value-Added